opera, and--similar to the
Greek sylvan drama which followed the tragic trilogy--was
frequently a parody on the piece which preceded it; though
more frequently still (as in Pergolcsi's "Serra Padrona") it
was not a satire on any particular subject, but designed to
heighten the ideal artistic effect of the serious opera by
broad comedy. Having acquired a complete form on the boards
of the small theatres, it was transferred to the larger
stage. Though it lacked the external splendor and consummate
vocalization of the elder sister, its simpler forms endowed
it with a more characteristic rendering of actual life.

It furnished the point of departure for the lively and facile genius
of Gretry, who laid the foundation stones of that lyric comedywhich has
flourished in France with so much luxuriance. From the outset merriment
and humor were by no means the sole object of the French comic opera,
as in the case of its Italian sister. Gretry did not neglect to turn the
nobler emotions to account, and by a judicious admixture of sentiment
he gave an ideal coloring to his works, which made them singularly
fascinating and original. Around Gretry flourished several disciples and
imitators, and for twenty years this charming hybrid between opera and
vaudeville engrossed French musical talent, to the exclusion of other
forms of composition. It was only when Gluck * appeared on the scene,
and by his commanding genius restored serious opera to its supremacy,
that Grotry's repute was overshadowed. From this decline in public
favor he never fully recovered, for the master left behind him gifted
disciples, who embodied his traditions, and were inspired by his lofty
aims--preeminently so in the case of Cherubini, perhaps the greatest
name in French music. While French comic opera, since the days of
Gretry, has become modified in some of its forms, it preserves the
spirit and coloring which he so happily imparted to it, and looks back
to him as its founder and lawgiver.

*See article on "Gluck," in "The Great German Composers"
(a companion volume to this), in which his connection with
French music is discussed.

IV.

One of the most accomplished of historians and critics, Oulibischeff,
sums up the place of Cherubini in musical art in these words: "If on the
one hand Gluck's calm and plastic grandeur, and on the other the tender
and voluptuous charm of the melodies of Pic